The second edition of the College Football Playoff rankings have arrived.
As we hit the home stretch of the season, several Texas teams are in the CFP mix. Much is still to be decided with several marquee matchups and conference championship week still ahead.
Here are three takeaways from the latest CFP rankings.
Sports Roundup
A Texas takeover …
Three in-state teams would be playoff participants if the tournament began this week.
No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 6 Texas Tech and No. 10 Texas were each within the 12-team bracket unveiled Tuesday night. The Aggies (9-0, 6-0 SEC) and the Red Raiders (9-1, 6-1 Big 12) were each included in last week’s installment but the Longhorns (7-2, 4-1) had been bumped out because of the bracket’s conference champion requirement.
That’s the most amount of Texas teams that have been represented in a projected bracket since the postseason expanded prior to last season.
The Aggies, who lead the SEC, would receive a first-round bye if this week’s standings remained status quo and could potentially play the Red Raiders in the quarterfinals. Texas Tech is in line to host No. 11 Miami at Lubbock’s Jones AT&T Stadium as the bracket stands. The Longhorns would play at No. 7 Ole Miss in this scenario and face No. 2 Indiana in the quarterfinals if they advanced.
… for now
The Longhorns, by way of a win vs. a ranked Vanderbilt team two weeks ago and movement around them, are in. That position could change (or improve) after this weekend.
Texas will travel east to play No. 5 Georgia in a game that will all but certainly decide its fate. The Longhorns effectively need to win out in order to clinch a postseason berth and will need to topple a Bulldogs team that beat it twice (once in the regular season and once in the SEC championship game) last season.
Zero three-loss teams earned an at-large bid into last year’s bracket and the only-three loss team that clinched a spot (Clemson) needed to win the ACC championship game in order to do so. The Longhorns may eliminate themselves from league championship contention and playoff contention if they can’t buck their Bulldog woes.
What about the others?
Those three headliners are not the only in-state programs with playoff dreams.
Both SMU and North Texas – neither of which were represented in Tuesday’s top 25 – still have a shot to reach the postseason. It’ll just take a little late-season magic.
The Mean Green (8-1, 4-1 AAC) can still clinch a spot in the bracket by way of their conference championship game. South Florida is No. 24 overall but is No. 12 in the bracket because the five highest-seeded conference champions qualify. The Bulls are the highest-ranked Group of Five team, which suggests that the committee holds them in a higher regard than James Madison, but will need to win the league title game to hold that position. North Texas, which lost to USF earlier this season, can leapfrog them if they can also qualify for the AAC championship game and can enact revenge. They’re one of five teams in the league with one league loss this season.
The Mustangs (7-3, 5-1 ACC) are tied atop their conference standings and still in play to qualify for the league championship game. They can play their way into the bracket that way. A Nov. 22 game vs. No 20 Louisville looms large in that regard.
Full rankingsRankTeamRecordPrevious ranking1Ohio State9-012Indiana10-023Texas A&M9-034Alabama8-145Georgia8-156Texas Tech9-187Ole Miss9-168Oregon8-199Notre Dame7-21010Texas7-21111Oklahoma7-21212BYU8-1713Utah7-21314Vanderbilt8-21615Miami7-21816Georgia Tech8-11717USC7-21918Michigan7-22119Virginia8-21420Louisville7-21521Iowa6-32022Pittsburgh7-22423Tennessee6-32524South Florida7-2NR25Cincinnati7-2NR
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